Reid's Yellow Dent Corn (90-110 days)

One of the most popular open-pollinated yellow variety grown in the country. Especially well suited for the Corn Belt.

Originated by Robert Reid of Illinois in 1847 and improved by his son, James L. Reid, from 1870 to 1900.

In 1877 James Reid produced a yield of 120 bushels an acre! The average yield at the time was 27 bushels of corn per acre. This became the world famous Reid's yellow dent.

Color is deep yellow, with a lighter cap, but a reddish tinge often appears.

The cobs tend to be small and dark red. Ears are 9 to 10 in. long and 7 to 8 in. around with plants growing to 10-14 feet tall (see picture).

Biggers ears on the stalk can weight 1.8#s!

Ear tapers slightly, with 16 to 22 closely spaced rows. Kernels are very deep and narrow to medium in width, slightly keystone in shape, with a square crown.

Slightly rough, with kernels dented on top. Stalks are tall and leafy and make very good silage.

Adapted to virtually every state.

A great deal of information has been lost about the performance of some of these old varieties. Fortunately some old historical information exists that really helps us today. The 1936 USDA Yearbook of Agriculture recommended Reid's Yellow Dent for the following states. AZ, CO, ID, IN, IA, KS, KY, MD, NE, OK, SD, UT, VA, WA, and WV

"I am often asked for the origin of what I call 'Reid's Yellow Dent Corn' and just now seems to be a proper time to give the public a short history of it. In 1846 when my father Robert Reid moved from Brown County, Ohio to Illinois, he packed with other goods his seed corn. This corn was known in the Red Oak settlement as the 'Gordon Hopkins' corn. It was not a yellow corn, but had something of a reddish cast which I call 'flesh color.' Transportation at that time was not rapid and it was quite late in the spring when the corn arrived. Uncle Daniel Reid, who had previously settled in the vicinity of Delavan, had the ground ready and the corn was at once planted and it made that year (1846) a good yield of immature corn. Father selected the best ripened corn for his next year's seed, but got a very imperfect stand of corn in the spring of 1847 and had to replant, which was done with a 'Little Yellow Corn' such as was grown in Illinois, the missing hills being put in with a hoe. The corn has never been purposely mixed with any thing since, and has been bred up by selection to what it is today, one of the best varieties of pure yellow corn in existence." James L. Reid, 1899

Seed Planting Depth

Seeds per ounce

Germination Temperature

Days to Germination

Row Spacing

Plant Spacing

100' Row Yield

Sun

1-2"

75-85

70-80

4-8

12-24"

6-8"

15 lb.

Full

Zea mays

Planting Tips:

When to Plant Heirloom Corn Seed: The most common mistake people make is planting corn seed too early and the seed rots in the cold soil. Heirloom corn is believed to have originated in Mexico. If you are thinking margaritas, palm trees and hot sandy beaches you are on the right track. Heirloom corn hates the cold.There are a few corn varieties that you can put in the soil when its below 65 degrees, but not many. If you want to get a jump start on corn then plant in the greenhouse and transplant corn to the garden later when ALL DANGER OF FROST IS PAST. Do not let these corn transplants get much bigger than 4-6"s or they will not develop properly later. Make sure what you plant your corn seed in has nice deep trays and try not to disturb the roots too much when transplanting your heirloom corn seedlings.

Planting heirloom corn seed: Corn does best on a deep, well-drained soil which has an abundant and uniform supply of water throughout the growing season.

Fertilization: The Indians were dead on planting a fish under every corn plant. Heirloom corn is a greedy feeder and will produce much better with an ample supply of nitrogen. I plant plenty of fava beans in the spring and chop them into the ground a few weeks before I plant corn seed. Fava's put amazing amounts of nitrogen into the ground naturally and without harsh chemicals. I also work in plenty of composted manure and a bit of bone/blood meal. Many folks use alfalfa in the same way as fava beans fro excellent results with corn..

Bulk Heirloom Corn Seed For Sale: You will find many of our heirloom corns in bulk quantities for sale. We have tried hard to locate as many quality heirloom corn varieties as possible. The greatest expense these days is shipping bulk heirloom corn wholesale because of the high fuel prices and the heavy weight of bulk corn quantities.

Seeding Rate:

17,000-25,000 plants/acre, 14-20 lb. per acre.

Heirloom seeds are hardy but always take care with your garden seeds to give them the appropriate amount of moisture - not letting the vegetable seeds dry out prematurely or overwatering and possibly having them rot.

Developmenalt Problems:

Many strange things can happen to corn when it is developing from seed emergence to harvest time. This poster (to the right) from Ohio State University gives you a good illustration of what can and does happen.